hurry into dunkin' donuts and grab a pumpkin muffin or donut today. america runs on dunkin'. good morning. face-off. the first presidential debate now just hours away as vice president joe biden makes a comment that gives his republic republican rivals new ammunition, and conservatives circulate a five-year-old video in a move the obama campaign call desperate. nbc news investigates why the smoke detector in your home may not work in a fire. a report that could save you and your family. and online attack. on-air response. a local news anchor takes to the airwaves to fire back at a viewer who slammed her for her weight. >> well, you know nothing about me but what you see on the outside, and i am much more than

a number on a scale. >> we'll talk to her today, wednesday, october 3rd, 2012. from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm savannah guthrie. >> and i'm david gregory in for matt this morning. if you love politics, this is it. the stage is set. the first big presidential debate. the showdown in denver between president obama and republican challenger mitt romney. you know romney is looking for a new look and, of course, the president is trying to avoid the incumbent trap of trying to appear arrogant or underprepared. a lot on the line right now. >> a big moment in the campaign because there are so many eyes on this. it's the first of three debates between these two men. it's scheduled to last 90 minutes, and with just 33 days until the election some 60

million people are expected to tune in. former republican candidate rick santorum knows what it's like to go against mitt romney in a debate. we'll talk to him straight ahead, as well as the president's deputy campaign manager stephanie cutter. also ahead, we brought you his incredible story last week, a man looking for a second chance to fulfill his dream after he suffered a debilitating injury in his one and only at-bat in the major leagues. last night, seven years later, adam greenberg finally got that chance. we'll show you how he did and talk to him about the big moment the morning after. a bit later. you think politics can get ugly. try the "american idol" judging table. ugly moment during an "american idol" audition. nicki minaj apparently losing it over her fellow judge and fellow diva mariah carey. a lot of people saw this one coming. more on that story. >> we want to begin over at news desk. natalie morales is there. natalie, good morning. >> good morning, david and

savannah. good morning, everyone. american airlines is identifying what caused seats to come loose on two planes. the troubled carrier says a clamp that attaches seats to a track in the floor was not properly installed, and still, more trouble in the skies for the airline tuesday as a flight from london to chicago was diverted to ireland after a passenger reported the smell of smoke in the cabin. but some progress is possible today as the american airlines pilots union resumes scuttled contract negotiations with the carrier. former penn state graduate assistant mike mcqueary has filed suit against the university for defamation and misrepresentation. mcqueary's account that he witnessed jerry sandusky showering with a boy back in 2001 helped bring the charges that led to the former assistant football coach's conviction. mcqueery is seeking millions of dollars in damages, alleging that the university mistreated him after the sandusky child sexual abuse scandal surfaced. penn state is not commenting on the complaint. the latest search for jimmy hoffa has turned up nothing but

dirt. police had been searching a backyard in suburban detroit where a credible tipster told them a man, possibly the long missing former teamsters boss had been buried some 37 years ago. soil samples gathered at the site turned up no traces of hoffa or any other human remains. hoffa was last seen in the summer of 1975, about 30 miles from the site of the latest tip. a series of suicide bombings this morning in syria's largest city has killed at least 31 people. state tv reports that three explosions rocked a government-controlled district in aleppo. now let's head to wall street. cnbc's mandy drury is at the new york stock exchange. good morning to you, mandy. >> good morning to you as well, natalie. today we're watching the private sector jobs report for some clues as to what kind of report we're going to get on friday when the big government payrolls report comes out. at this stage economists are expecting 153,000 jobs were created in the month of september, and apple shares are in focus once again as there are some reports out that asian

component suppliers of apple have begun mass production of a smaller tablet computer that apparently is smaller than the current ipad. we're all waiting for that as well. back to you. >> wonderful to be in time for the holidays. mandy drury, thanks so much. the self-proclaimed world's best dad is at it again. davengedow and his 20-month-old daughter have become famous online that show sarcastically why dave's the greatest dad. after their appearance on her show last week where alice bee got a little rowdy with the new found stardom and dave struck again with this picture. in it reviewing the tape of our show and dave is requiring the to the to study up and write an essay about how to comport herself on national tv. boy, those teen years are going to be rough. it's 7:05. right now back over to savannah, david and al. love that guy's sense of humor. >> doing those things for real would be wronging right?

>> just gave my 8-year-old a chainsaw. >> no, no, that's okay. let's see what we've got for you. talking about rough weather coming in. going to be very foggy. warm humid air coming up out of the ohio river valley. cool moist air coming in off the atlantic, so we're talking about a lot of fog throughout a good portion of the northeast into new england with some showers hanging around. airport delays going to be a big problem. if you're flying anywhere from say boston on all the way to new york city, boston, newark, philadelphia, washington, d.c. and baltimore, we're talking fog and probably delays today throughout the early morning into the noontime hour >> good morning. it will be a warm day today. the fog will be burning off as we go through the morning. a mixture of sun and clouds.

>> and that's your latest weather. savannah? >> all right. al. thanks. this morning on "today," the first presidential debate. the stage is set for the first presidential show dunne between president obama and mitt romney. their first face-to-face meeting in five years. chuck todd is the white house political director and chief white house correspondent outside the university of denver. chuck, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. first of three 90-minute debates, one-on-one between president obama and mitt romney, and it comes at a critical time. for romney it's about turning the page on a rough september, and for the president it's a chance to shut off romney's last path to victory. president obama took a break from tuesday's debate prep in nevada visiting the hoover dam. >> it's spectacular, and i've never seen it before. >> reporter: meanwhile in

denver, mitt romney's break time from debate prep was lunch at the tex-mex chain restaurant chipotle joined by ohio senator rob portman who is playing mr. obama in romney's mock debate sessions. with the two candidates off the trail tuesday, their number two men picked up the slack. campaigning in north carolina vice president biden drew some attention with these comments, discussing the gop ticket's tax plan. >> how they can justify raising taxes on the middle class that's been buried the last four years. >> reporter: the romney campaign pounced on the word buried. campaigning in iowa, paul ryan fired back. >> vice president biden just today said that the middle class over the last four years has been, quote, buried. we agree. that means we need to stop digging by electing mitt romney the next president of the united states. >> reporter: later, the vice president did some damage control, clarifying his remarks. >> the middle class was buried

by the policies of romney and ryan supported. >> reporter: 24 hours before the start time of tonight's debate late tuesday, conservatives began circulating a 2007 speech by then candidate obama speaking to an african-american audience about victims of hurricane katrina. fox news host sean hannity prominently featured the video as a gotcha moment. >> it contains some of the most divisive class warfare and racially charged rhetoric ever used by barack obama. >> reporter: nbc, along with several other media outlets, covered the same speech at the time. mr. obama spoke at length about the hurricane response. >> people asked me whether they thought race was the reason the response was so slow. this administration was color-blind in its incompetence, but -- but everyone here knows that the disaster and the poverty happened long before the hurricane hit. >> reporter: late tuesday the obama campaign responded calling hannity's coverage desperate,

adding in a transparent attempt to change the subject from his comments attacking half of the american people, mitt romney's allies recirculated video of a 2007 event that was open to and extensively covered by the press at the time. >> this is why i like coming to vegas. >> this is a great place to be. >> reporter: meanwhile, a new round of nbc/"wall street journal"/marist polls show where the race stands in the three biggest battleground states. good news for mitt romney in virginia where he's closed gap to two points compared to a four-point deficit and also a close race in florida where the president leads romney by just a single point, also down from a four-point lead last month. but romney's made no progress in ohio where mr. obama remains a significant edge, virtually unchanged since september. nationally the new nbc/"wall street journal" poll also shows the president in a strong position though the race tightened. he sits at 49% in both his ballot test and job approval

rating. mitt romney coalesced republicans and to close the gap and likely voters because of republican enthusiasm, 49/46. david? >> former pennsylvania senator rick santorum is a former republican presidential candidate and author of the new book "american patriots, answering the call to freedom." senator, good to see you. >> thank you, david. >> talk about the book in a minute. let's talk about the debate. i spoke with governor chris christie on "meet the press" and he said come thursday morning the narrative will be completely different after the first debate. how so? what are you looking for tonight? >> first off, having gone through debates in the primary, they are a big deal, and it's going to be a big moment tonight somewhere, and i think the narrative will change. what it will change to, i don't know, but i think the potential for governor romney to do well tonight i think is actually pretty good. i think expectations are very low. president obama is a much more dynamic speaker. i'm not dissing mitt romney. president obama, that's his strength, and i think the expectations are very high for him.

i can tell you, going up against mitt romney is not a fun thing. he's -- he has the facts. he drills you. he stays, he's tenacious, and that's the difference between four years ago and this time. john mccain was very passive. let the president, candidate obama do whatever he wants to do. mitt romney will not do that, and here's the strength tonight. >> here's the challenge. on the one hand mitt romney has to connect, needs a second look. has had a rough couple of weeks. everyone acknowledged that. needs to be specific about what a romney presidency would achieve. >> we're not talking about accomplishing a lot. two or three things in an hour and a half to accomplish. one of them is to show he's in command, understands the job of the presidency and put barack obama on the defensive given his horrific record on the economy and on national security, and i think he will do that. i think he will be tough with the president. i don't think the president will

react particularly well to that because i don't think the president gets people who are very tough with him very often, and i think that interplay i think will be the key moment of the night. >> you see more people optimistic about the economy. you see the president's poll numbers improving with regard to handling the economy. yet you still believe he's quite vulnerable. the polls are tightening. why and where? >> look, i think fundamentally the american public realize that barack obama has failed in his transformation of america. he came in, you know, with very lofty goals and saying that he was going to do all these things. he hasn't done any of them. the economy is in worse shape, the unemployment rate is in worse shape. national security-wise we're much more vulnerable. things are falling apart around the world in very key areas of the world, particularly with the middle east and with our ally israel. there's a lot of problems just right there that the american public is aware of. i think that's why you're seeing this race close, and ultimately mitt romney is going to win this election just because things are not -- barack obama can't close

the deal that another four years is going to be any different than the last four which have not been good. >> you come off the campaign trail and have written a new book, "american patriots," about revolutionary america. why this subject, and why do you think the message resonates so much? >> you were out there and talking earlier about the campaign trail. that's what i talked about. a lot of mitt romney, you know, i've listened to a lot of his speeches. he talks about the same thing. this is a foundational election. this is an election about what we are. well, who are we, and i think that's why i put this book out there, talking about who we are as americans, because barack obama has a different vision than our founders' vision of what america is to be, and that's fine. he wants to transform america, but from what to what, and this book answers the question from what, a country that believes in our founding documents of god-given rights and limited government and free people being able to form families and communities and build a great america from the bottom up as opposed to president obama's view which is, no. you know, we can't do that anymore. it's not fair. we need the government to make

those decisions and allocate resources and opportunity, not the people. so i think more of that talk, and i think, again, if you listen to romney's speeches, he does talk about those things, but we're trying to reinforce that out among the grass roots, full. >> rick santorum, good luck with the book. >> thank you. >> senator, thanks as always. >> here's savannah. stephanie cutter is president obama's campaign manager. stephanie, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> let's talk about the debate. you just heard rick santorum talk about the president's strengths as a debater. this is something that american voters seem to agree with. most polls show they expect the president to prevail tonight by a large margin. does the president have a very high bar to pass tonight in the view of american voters? >> well, i think the test for both candidates tonight is who is going to lay out a vision and a detailed specific vision of how we're going to move this country forward. i think the candidate that does that will win that test. american people sitting at home in their living rooms are looking for details, and i think you'll see president obama

continue to do that. he's been having that conversation with them for some time. mitt romney has not done that. tonight offers him an opportunity to do that. he's got 90 minutes to clarify some comments that he's made recently, some policies that are left open, some tax cuts that he won't say how he's going to pay for, and we're very much look forward to this. >> you're looking to plan to press him for specifics. turning that on you. will the president offer specifics on how he plans to rejuvenate the economy and why he thinks he'll be more successful in a next four years than he was able to be in the first four years? >> i think you'll hear him talk about the past four years and what we've been able to do to right the economy. remember, when the president took office we were losing 100,000 jobs a month. now we've created more than 5 million jobs over the past years with 30 straight months of

growth. >> let me stop you right there. the president has said what he wants to do but what he hasn't said is why he'll be more successful politically if the makeup of congress stays exactly the same. >> well, i think he actually, savannah, he has talked about that. i think he said it's up to the american people. the american people need to see this election as a moment to break that fever, to send a message to washington that it's time to get things done, to work across the aisle. the president has continuously reached across the aisle to get things done, whether it was reducing taxes on the middle class, you know, reducing our deficit, cutting $1 trillion worth of spending. he's open and ready to do that, continued to do that over the next four years, but on election day i think americans will send a very strong signal to the people in washington, that it's time for republicans to drop their intransigence of protecting tax cuts for the wealthy, come to the table and -- and get some stuff done. >> i want to ask you about vice president biden's remarks yesterday. conservatives have seized on them. he said that the middle class has been buried for the last

four years. your campaign has pointed out he meant because of republican policies. that said, do you wish the vice president had chosen different words? >> no, absolutely not. in fact, we'll probably debate this tonight, that the middle class has been pressed over the past four years because of the very same policies that mitt romney and paul ryan are promising to go back to. let's talk about that tax cut that mitt romney won't tell us how he's going to pay for it. that's a tax cut geared towards the wealthy. wants to give a $250,000 tax cut to multi-millionaires, but in order to pay for that, even mitt romney's own economists say we'll have to raise taxes on the middle class. that's exactly what crashed the economy and punished the middle class in the first place. you'll hear the president talk about that tonight, and we shouldn't return to those policies. we have to continue moving forward on the path that we're on. the president is rebuilding this economy in a way that's meant to last, with a strong middle class at its core. the last thing we should do is go back to the policies that crashed the economy in the first place. >> all right. >> that's what mitt romney and paul ryan are promising to do.

>> stephanie cutter, we're out of time for the moment. thank you for your time this morning. >> thank you, savannah. >> watch tonight's debate live starting at 9:00 eastern, 6:00 pacific time right here on nbc. at 18 minutes past the hour, here's david. >> a big trial in italy capturing global attention. the pope's former butler is accused of stealing thousands of private papal document. on tuesday he told the court why he did it. nbc's michelle kosinski is in rome this morning. michelle, good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, david, yeah. here we have the pope's right-hand man accused of stealing the pope's personal letters and documents, copying them, leaking them to the press. when this first broke it was described like something out of a shadowy novel full of high-level intrigue, but now it kind of reads more like a bizarre heist. this was paulo gabriele in his coveted role, one of poeb benedict's closest aides. now the butler is accused in a

vatican courtroom charged with stealing a large number of the pep's personal letters and documents, some refer to infighting over things like construction contracts, alleged cronyism and transparency, a rare peek inside vatican justice. gabriele has admitted taking the documents but testified he doesn't feel guilty of a crime, only betraying the trust of a man he loves like a father. he told prosecutors seeing evil and corruption everywhere in the church, i was sure that a shock, even a media one, would have been healthy to bring the church back on the right track. >> he was a known and trusted person, and so he spoke to many people about many different issues of concern that he said they came to him with. >> reporter: on the stand, gabriele described talking to the pope. i realized it's easy thoma nip late somebody with such enormous decision-making power. sometimes he would ask questions about situations he should have been aware of. he claims to have had no accomplices which has been a huge question ever since an italian journalist published many of these documents. >> paulo gabriele did say he acted alone but did say there

were circumstances that helped him do what he did, giving away the documents, having the documents published and actually mentioned several names, two cardinals and a german woman and one other italian bishop. >> reporter: but here the devil has also been in the less significant details. gabriele says when he was arrested he was held for two weeks in isolation in a cell so small he couldn't even extend his arms, the light on all day and night. yet authorities say in gabriele's home they also found a gold nugget, a document dating back to the 1500s. gabriele said he prout it home to show his kids and a check for more than $100,000, a gift from the university to the pope. one other vatican staffer is accused of holding -- umts for gabriele after the fact, but his role is considered very minor, so on this saturday this tribunal will decide gabriele's fate. he could face four years in prison but everybody you talk to here fully expects the pope to

pardon him, and as if this wasn't enough going on around here. take a look at this video yesterday. an italian man jumped over a railing, out on to the dome of st. peters. he's protesting austerity measures in the eurozone, and there he remains at this moment. david? >> wow, michelle kosinski, thanks very much. coming up here this morning, a man who got a second chance to live out his dream last night seven years after his only at-bat in the major leagues. he'll tell us what it was like in a live interview, but first this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead here, startling claims that the most popular kind of smoke detector may not save your family in a fire. and we'll talk to the local tv anchor being praised for standing up on air to a viewer who attacked her for her weight after your local news. ♪ i'd do anything for you, dear ♪

♪ anything, yes, i'd do anything ♪ ♪ anything for you ♪

check out the latest collection of snacks from lean cuisine. creamy spinach artichoke dip, crispy garlic chicken spring rolls. they're this season's must-have accessory. lean cuisine. be culinary chic. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall here is a look at one of our top stories. more than 40 animals are in the care of anne arundel county animal control and now after they were seized from a home in pasadena. officers received a tip that they were not being cared for properly. charges are pending against the owner, who says his reputation is at stake because of false accusations. let's get a check on the morning

commute with sarah caldwell. fog causing problems. >> let's get you up-to-date. two accidents along pulaski highway. this one is taking up the left lane and abingdon road. watch for these delays on 95. very heavy beginning at mountain road. another one of howard street and pratt street. 15 miles per hour from reisterstown road all the way down. eastbound i-70, coming from the attitude towards 29. westminster, route 97, a recent crash in the past few minutes. 295 showing southbound delays -- and in theor t parkton region, traffic is crawling in the southbound direction.

that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> fog is still the big story out there. there is a wide range of temperatures as well. 75 in annapolis. it may make it into the low 80s in the southern suburbs. slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm in the forecast as well. it will not be a widespread rain event like yesterday. 30% chance for a rain showe

we've been in the water for one hour now. no sign of the coast guard or any rescue or emergency services yet. >> back now at 7:30 on this wednesday morning. it's the 3rd of october, 2012. that is some dramatic video of two men floating at sea miles from shore after they were forced to crash land after a fire broke out on their small plane. this morning, their remarkable survival story in an exclusive live interview. glad to see them doing well. good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie alongside david gregory who is in for matt. also ahead this morning, a story a lot of people are talking about, a local anchor woman from wisconsin who didn't take a viewer e-mail blasting her for her weight lying down. in fact, she went on the air

calling the writer a bully. we're going to talk to her coming up. >> a lot of people talking about that story. >> yeah. and then if a fire strikes your home, will your smoke detector go off? some experts say the most popular kind of alarms may take too long or not sound at all in some of the deadliest fires. coming up, the results of a new rossen reports investigation. and a quick programming note to tell you about, too. tomorrow on "today" matt will have an exclusive interview with facebook founder mark zuckerberg. this is his first since he took the company public. they discussed fak's future, the morale of the staff and that other big silicon valley company. >> last weekend apple sold about 5 million of their new iphone 5s. did you buy one? >> tim sent one to me. it's a wonderful device. >> you got a freebie. didn't have to pay anything, huh? so are you now an iphone 5 user? is that the phone you've got in your pocket or back in your desk? >> i think i handed my phone to someone else.

>> much more of matt's exclusive and rare interview with mark zuckerberg, founder of facebook later on "today." >> we want to begin this half hour with a second chance for a baseball player, a baseball player injured in his one and only at-bat in the major leagues. we'll talk to adam greenberg exclusively but first nbc kerry sanders is at marlins park in miami. hey, kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. what a story. 31-year-old adam greenberg here at home plate in marlins park. it took more than seven years, but he's now in the history books, finally getting his one at-bat. greenberg is on deck and ready for his one at-bat. a standing ovation as adam greenberg, the man who wouldn't take no for an answer works captured the imagination of fans and non-fans alike, finally stepped up to the plate. but first let's rewind the story to 2005 to explain how it took

so long for a player drafted to the majors to finally get a chance to swing at a ball >> at am greenberg will be the batter. >> reporter: in that major league debut adam went to bat for the chicago cubs. on the first pitch from the marlins pitcher in a split second the career that was to begin ended. >> oh, my goodness. >> let's hope he's okay. >> reporter: it would turn out adam was not okay. a 92-mile-per-hour fastball left him with a severe head injury. >> any time i leaned my head back my eyes were shift controllably out of place and i'd be left with a migraine type symptom for hours on end. >> good job, baby. >> reporter: for years adam battled back, and then matt liston, just a fan with a video camera and a big dream, called adam and said let's get your one at-bat. >> one at-bat for greenie. >> reporter: an online campaign led to an offer from the miami marlins here on "today." >> well, adam, we'd like to sign

to you a one-day contract. >> reporter: tuesday adam sign that had one-day contract, held a news conference. >> so this is just -- this is just great. >> reporter: warmed up with teammates, took batting practice where, yes, he hit one out of the park, and matt, the fan, who got this all going. >> it's one of those nights. >> reporter: which brings us to the moment. adam back at bat >> at am greenberg in the box, and here we go. first pitch, strike one. the 0-1 pitch and greenberg takes a swing and a miss. 0-2 pitch. swing and a miss, and he strikes out. >> reporter: no hits, no home run, but for adam one at-bat, finally. >> it was a magical moment for me that i'll cherish for the rest of my life. it was never about the results of the at-bat. it was just getting in the box. ready to play major league baseball again and i got that chance. >> reporter: it took 11 innings by the marlins beat the mets

4-3, and afterwards there was a big party out there for adam greenberg who may not be the most valuable player but for many is certainly the most inspirational. david. >> absolutely. kerry sanders, thank you so much, and we are joined now exclusively by adam greenberg who finally got his one at-bat and matt liston, the man who helped him get there. good morning to both of you guys. >> good morning. >> well, adam, what a night. you know, where to begin. just as you're walking up to the plate, you have this opportunity for the one at-bat. talk about what's going through your head, your heart and your stomach i'm sure as you're walking up to the plate. >> yeah. i mean, it was -- it was a chance to relive my dream, and i soaked it all in. you know, i just remember walk ing up to the plate and digging in and stepping out, and when i stepped out, i heard the roar of the crowd, and i felt an energy that i've never felt or experienced in my entire life,

and it -- it was what dreams are made of, and mine came true last night for that moment while i was in there, and i just -- i had a blast. >> did you get much advance notice that you were going to get up there, or is one of those deals, hey, greenberg, let's go? >> yeah, pretty much. i had two outs to get ready. i remember john buck said, hey, do you want to go hit a little, and it was like i've got to get my helmet, i don't know. >> yeah. >> and so once i got everything all set and got my helmet and took a few swings. that's all the time you need. mentally i was prepared for it. i was following the game and knew what was going on. when my number was called, i was red. >> we're looking at some of the batting practice, hit one out during bp, not uncommon. had to be a big confidence boost. there you go, and get a shot and who you have to go up against, r.a. dickey, could get the cy

young, all-star players thinking what am i going to do against this knuckleballer? take us through the at-bat. >> yeah, i mean, he -- i really do hope he wins the cy young this year. obviously selfishly because i got to face him. >> exactly. >> but he -- he is one of the best in the game right now, and, you know, he threw me -- i only got to see three pitches but what i saw and seen him do this year he is that good. the first pitch he threw i was geared up and ready. it dropped about three feet right before -- right before it got to home plate. you know, and -- and it was good. i got to -- i did get to see a pitch, and, unfortunately, i didn't get to see another one that looked like that. he has a way of add iing speed, adding and subtracting speed to his knuckleball. that's what he did. the second pitch accelerated just right off the plate.

i swung and missed, but the one thing i knew is i was going to go up swinging and go down swinging one way or another, and that last pitch was -- was a little up. i didn't quite get it, but i felt calm. i felt relaxed. i felt ready to play major league baseball, and he got me. he -- he beat me last night. >> matt, i want to get you in here because you played such a big role in this. you spoke to matt lauer about it last week. your perseverance and your inspiration on this story is well documented, and this is what i love about baseballing right? it's not just about the game. it's about life. it's about adam's perseverance and overcoming the odds. talk about the moment last night for you and what you think it means. >> well, you know, i got to sit and have the pleasure and honor of watching the ball game with adam's family, and i got to tell you, when he stepped up to the plate, when he just stronghold up to the plate, you saw the number 10 and greenberg on the back, it was amazing.

i'll never forget it. never been more excited for a single at-bat in my life. you know, when he stepped up there, you know, it was a great example, a great example for people to never give up on your dream, to continue to believe, and -- and it was just an honor to be there and to see him step up to the plate. oh, my gosh. i'll never forget it. never forget it. an i've got to tell you. the crowd was so electric and so -- i mean, the support and the love pouring down on adam when he stepped up there was tremendous >> at am, we've got to go. any more baseball in your future? >> oh, i'm not done. this is just a start. matt and the one at-bat campaign and everyone that supported me, last night was the start of my career again, and i'm not done. that was not for sure. that was for me to start my career over. >> all right. good for you, guys. thanks so much. keep it going. adam greenberg and matt liston,

thank you. now we're going to get a check of the wetter from al. >> all right, david, thanks so much. got a big winter storm starting to fire up back through montana. going to be making its way into northern minnesota over the next 48 hours. snowfall amounts, we're talking anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of snow. lewiston, grand forks and international falls. and we've got a big change in our temperatures coming. this cold front pushing down. denver 80 degrees today, but by tomorrow look at this. temperatures falling about 30 degrees by thursday morning, so it's going to be a big chill coming into the plain states, and that cool air will make its way all the way down to >> good morning. going into the afternoon, a mixture of sun and clouds. still a slight chance for a rain shower.

>> and that's your latest weather. caved? >> al, thank you very much. coming up next, an nbc news investigation, why experts say the most popular kind of smoke detectors don't work well in some of the deadliest fires. that's right after this. so, you guys grew up together. yes, since third grade... what are you lookin' at? i wasn't... not looking at anything... we're not good enough for you. must be supermodels? what do you model gloves?

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back now at 7:44. this morning on "rossen reports," startling claims that the most popular kind of smoke detector may not protect your family in a fire. today national investigative correspondent jeff rossen is here with the details. jeff, good morning. >> hey, savannah, good morning this.

really does affect all of us. we've all been there. you burn toast in your house and suddenly your smoke alarm goes off, so you assume it's ultra sensitive, but experts say think again. turns out smoke from burning food is much different than smoke from burning furniture. in fact, we found in a real fire your smoke detector may not go off in time to save your family. >> 911. >> i have a fire in my home. i've got a baby i've got to crawl with. >> reporter: a desperate mother waking up to a house full of smoke trying to save her kids. >> as i'm trying to get upstairs, my first thought is the four people that i have upstairs to try to make sure that they are not scared to death, that they are safe and that they are okay. >> i have four children dead in the house. it's burning. it's incinerated. >> reporter: the kids didn't make it. cause of death, smoke inhalation, so why didn't they have more warning? after all the house had working

smoke detectors. >> we put fresh batteries in the smoke detectors. we pushed the test buttons so i knew they worked, and then when it was time they never went off. >> reporter: amanda says she had the most common type of smoke detector used in 90% of homes, inexpensive, easy-to-find alarms that rely on ionization technology. work well to detect fires with fast flames, but experts say some of the most deadly fires are the smouldering smokey kind that can fill your home with toxic gases while you sleep. experts say in those fires ionization alarms don't work well, going off way too late or not at all. >> and that means that the individuals could have a fire in their home and never receive a warning. >> reporter: don russ sell a scientist at texas a&m. he's run hundreds of tests. when i go to the store to buy a smoke detector, i assume it's

going to sound when there's smoke. >> that's a reasonable assumption, but it's wrong. >> reporter: his findings are a bombshell in the industry, that the most popular smoke detectors may not help you in a fire. you're about to see just how scary that can be. we had dr. russell set up a test at the texas a&m engineering extension service. first, dr. russel placed three ionization detectors, the kind most of us have in a room with a couch. next, fire fighters set a slow smokey fire using a soldering iron. we're watching on monitors outside. fire fighters say every minute counts to get your family out, but watch, the room is filling up with smoke, and the smoke detectors still haven't gone off. it's been 30 minutes. >> the smoke is all the way towards where the smoke detectors are, and we still don't have any alert from the smoke detectors. >> reporter: finally at 36

minutes. >> we do have a smoke detector going off. >> reporter: minutes later, the other two go off. just as the couch is about to erupt in flames. >> it's way too late. too dangerous. you couldn't get out of that room reliably. >> reporter: remember, this is the type of smoke detector most of us have, but there's another technology out there that experts say gives you better warning in these fires. it's called a photoelectric detectors and even government tests show it goes off much sooner in smokey fires. watch what happens when dr. russell sets up another test, this time with a photoelectric next to those three ionization detectors. 17 minutes in with barely any smoke in the room the photoelectric sounds the alarm. >> photoelectric is telling us you've got a fireworks get out, solve the problem, get out of house. >> reporter: meanwhile, toxic smoke is overtaking the room. in fact, it takes another 21

minutes before any ionization detectors go off. these seasoned fire fighters are shocked. >> all i can think about about was my own family, and if i would have relied on ionization, my family probably wouldn't make it out so with the photoelectric, they would have had plenty of time to get out. >> reporter: photoelectric technology has been around for decades, and while the leading smoke detector companies make photoelectric alarms, they still sell most of their products without it. >> i think it's probably a business decision. >> reporter: the ionization detectors cost less money to make than the photoelectric. >> that is a correct statement. >> reporter: companies told us all their detectors provide adequate escape time and meet safety standards. >> they will only respond when there is government pressure to do so. >> reporter: so we went straight to the government agency overseeing the companies, the consumer product safety commission. why not tell the smoke detector companies make sure to get that

photoelectric technology into all of your detectors so you're covered completely? why not mandate it? >> because both technologies are working and saving lives. >> reporter: we know of several cases where the smoke alarm people say just did not go off. >> in those cases, that's -- they need to practice a fire escape plan to make sure that they can get out. >> reporter: if the smoke detector didn't get out and the house is full of smoke by the time that it does, what does an escape plan do? >> it helps them escape better when the smoke alarm eventually goes off. >> reporter: but eventually isn't good enough for amanda deputy who lost nearly everything. >> i would like to think that if i had known that i might have a familiar life seven instead of a family of three. >> reporter: to be clear no, one is saying throw out your smoke alarm. fire officials say the best advice is to have both technologies. you can even buy a dual detector that has both those technologies

in one, savannah, though it costs a little more money. >> thanks for the information, jeff. and we are back right after this. this happy couple used capital one venture miles for their "destination wedding." double miles you can "actually" use. but with those single mile travel cards... [ bridesmaid ] blacked out... but i'm a bridesmaid. oh! "x" marks the spot she'll never sit. but i bought a dress! a toast... ...to the capital one venture card. fly any airline, any flight, anytime. double miles you can actually use. what a coincidence? what's in your wallet? [ all screaming ] watch the elbows ladies. by the armful? by the barrelful? the carful? how about...by the bowlful? campbell's soups give you nutrition, energy, and can help you keep a healthy weight. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. with more birthdays.. join the american cancer society making strides against breast cancer walk and help us get there faster.

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. here is sarah caldwell. >> very busy ride once again. accident in the past few minutes on the outer loop. within that have the delay, the left lane has taken up. police are yet to arrive on the scene. let's show you what it looks like on 795. southbound traffic is inching along as you make your way from the owings mills area. a look at other problem spots. another one of highland avenue and east baltimore street.

you can see the north side and outer loop hanging on to those delays. this continues south on j.f.x. from the beltway down into town. one more problem of note -- actually, two more. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. now we check in with tony. >> visibility starting to improve a little bit out there, but fog still thick in some neighborhoods. 76 in annapolis. big range of temperatures from north to south today. those of you in the northern suburbs will stay in the 70's. down south, though 80s today. chance of a shower and in the forecast, but only a 30% chance. not a widespread rain like yesterday. same story tomorrow. warm, high near 81. rain over the weekend with a strong storm system. that will allow temperatures back into the 60s with overnight

lows in the 30's and 40's. we could get our first frost of the season monday night or tuesday.

juice listen to me right now. do not let your self-worth be defined by bullies. learn from my experience, that the cruel words of one are nothing compared to the shouts of many. >> that is the local television anchor everybody is talking about this morning. jennifer livingston and her on-air response to a viewer who said she was a bad example for young girls because she is overweight. she's going to tell us why she felt the need to respond on air in a moment. it is 8:00 now on this wednesday morning, the 3rd day of october, 2012. i'm savannah guthrie alongside david gregory in for matt this week and mr. al roker. what else do we have coming up? >> a great survival story, an incredible story that was

actually caught on tape. great because it is a survival tale. two guys forced to crash land in the gulf of mexico when their plane caught fire. they spent hours in the water, as you can see, waiting for rescue, documenting it all on an ipad. this morning those survivors are here with us for an exclusive live interview. they will tell us of their tales. >> wow. and then some more of our simple savvy silly tips. this one actually from a homeowner, justin from omaha, nebraska. tired of tangled cords. put them in a used old paper tube. >> that's clever. >> we'll have more of these, including the ultimate way to eat a cupcake. >> right, america's children have been struggling with how to figure this out. saying i would like to eat it but i want savannah to tell me how to eat it first. >> you know what, a really good tip. a lot of our virus have been sending them in so we like that. the day's top stories with natalie morales over at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. president obama and republican challenger mitt romney come face

to face tonight in their first presidential debate. tonight's event in denver could help the president maintain his slight lead in the battleground states of florida, ohio and virginia but a good showing by romney could help him narrow the gap even more and lure undecided voters. can you watch tonight's debate live starting at 9:00 eastern, 6:00 pacific time right here on nbc. if you are a pennsylvania voter, will you not have to show a photo i.d. this election. a judge ruled against the measure for now saying he didn't believe there was adequate time for voters to easily get a photo i.d. before november 6th. the new jersey high school student who disappeared after tweeting that there was an intruder in her home has been spotted on security camera at a train station. the video image taken just 15 minutes after her tweet shows the 16-year-old by herself holding a backpack and large purse waiting for a train. there's no signs of foul play, that she left her home voluntarily, but an

investigation is ongoing. sparks were flying at the judges' table between mariah carey and nicki minaj during "american idol" auditions in charlotte, north carolina tuesday, and the tmz footage minaj appears furious with carey and began shouting and cursing at her. >> every time you take it back. >> it's unclear exactly what sparked that argument. now for a look at what is trending today, our quick roundup what have has you talking online. seems john travolta and olivia newton-john are hopelessly devoted to each other. the 1978 it couple of the silver screen is back together again reuniting for a christmas album called "this christmas." travolta and newton-john will donate the proceeds to charity. the album is due out next month. well, we know he likes his hoodies. now mark zuckerberg admits he owns about 20 of the same gray t-shirt so he doesn't have to worry about what to wear. his comments, which are going viral online, were made during an exclusive interview with matt which you'll see here tomorrow on "today."

the 28-year-old facebook founder also says his wife priscilla chan takes up most of the closet space and that he gets one drawer, like men everywhere. and this star-studded public service announcement is racking up the hits online. it's called vote for stuff, and celebrities are poking fun at what they would vote for this election year. >> vote yes on cats. i know they are up to; but i like them. >> vote to keep tigers out of schools. >> i vote yes to anything that zac efron said. >> seriously, dangerous. >> women should have the right to vote. >> okay, ellen, seriously. >> they do. well, that's good. women should have the right so i'll think of something else. >> and you can add your two cents on the vote for stuff facebook page or on twitter using #voteforstuff. 8:04. back outside to al with a check of the weather. >> vote for weather. >> yeah. >> vote for al. >> everybody vote for weather. >> yeah, all right. a vote for weather is a vote for

stuff. anyway, let's show you what we've got as far as your weather is concerned. we've got airport delays, over two hours in new york, both laguardia, jfk, philadelphia almost an hour. baltimore 20 minutes. 40 minutes in d.c. that's all due to that fog out there that we're talking about. a lot of temperatures that are awfully toasty in the southwest. very chilly though in the northern plains where we've got winter storm watches going in parts of montana. showers here in the northeast. fog along the mid-atlantic and northeast coast. that's what's going >> good morning. it will be a warm day today. the fog will be burning off as we go through the morning. a mixture of sun and clouds.

>> that's your latest weather. now back to the king of the cupcakes, david gregory. >> al roker, thank you very much. up next here, the tv anchor who took a viewer to task on the air for an e-mail pointing out that she is overweight. she will join us right after this. ♪ [ male announcer ] 20,000 btus produce a delicate sear. double-oven range makes dinner and dessert -- at the same time. turbo-charged advantium oven cooks more than twice as fast, in this culinary powerhouse. dan. yes? molé sauce. [ male announcer ] with ge's most advanced cooking technology, the café line takes food further. ♪ new chocolatey delight pastry crisps from special k. two delicious crisps. for 100 calories. so you'll never have to break up with your sweet tooth again.

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back now at 810:00 with a local anchor who has a lot of people talking for her response to a viewer's e-mail. we're going to speak with her in a moment. but first, nbc's mara schiavocampo has her story. mara, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. jennifer livingston is used to getting the occasional not so nice comments from viewers but a message she got last week made her so mad she responded on camera. lacrosse, wisconsin anchor jennifer livingston is used to reporting the news, not becoming it, but last week she became the center of attention after a viewer sent her a harshly

critical e-mail about her weight. surely you don't consider yourself a suitable example for this community's young people, girls in particular. obesity is one of the worst choices a person can make and one of the most dangerous habits to maintain. i leave you this note hoping you'll reconsider your responsibility as a local public personality to present and promote a healthy lifestyle. outraged, livingston's husband posted the e-mail to facebook where it received hundreds of responses, overwhelmingly supporting livingston. tuesday livingston took to the air waves with a deeply personal commentary. >> the truth is i am overweight. you could call me fat, and, yes, even obese on a doctor's chart, but to the person who wrote me that letter, do you think i don't know that, that your cruel words are pointing out something that i don't see. you don't know me. you are not a friend of mine. are you not a part of my family, and you have admitted that you don't watch this show, so you know nothing about me but what

you see on the outside. and i am much more than a number on a scale. >> reporter: livingston, an emmy-award winning reporter and veteran news anchor, says she's used to critical viewer comments, but this message was much bigger than that. >> and here is where i want all of us to learn something from this. if you didn't already know, october is national anti-bullying month, and this is a problem that is growing every day in our schools and on the internet. it is a major issue in the lives of young people today, and as mother of three young girls it scares me to death. >> reporter: in the end livingston said her most important message was not for the person behind the e-mail but for the children watching. >> listen to me right now. do not let your self-worth be defined by bullies. learn from my experience, that the cruel words of one are nothing compared to the shouts ever many. >> reporter: one woman's on-air response to an online attack.

now on tuesday that viewer, kenneth crouch, stood by his initial e-mail and issued this statement. given this country's present epidemic of obesity and the many truly horrible diseases related thereto, and considering jennifer livingston's fortuitous position in the community, i hope she will finally take advantage of a rare and golden opportunity to influence the health and psychological well-being of coulee region children by transforming herself for all of her viewers to see over the next year, and to that end i would be absolutely pleased to offer jennifer any advice or support she would be willing to accept. savannah? >> esschiavocampo, thank you. jennifer living ton is with us now. jennifer, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, savannah. thanks for having me. >> well, i know you're used to being on television every day, but did you think you would be national news? 24 hours ago you make this statement, and now it's everywhere. >> no. this is beyond what i could have imagined when i went on air

yesterday. i was hoping to impact the people in our own market. i was hoping to send a message to them. what has happened has been really overwhelming, but inspiring at the same time. >> reporter: you've been >> you've been a reporter and anger for a long time and we all know that means you get nasty messages from time to time. what was it about this one that in your mind crossed the line? >> you know, i mean, yes, they call me obese, the person called me obese, and i can deal with that. i can deal with being called fat. i can deal with being called obese. it was calling me a bad role model that really rubbed me the wrong way and not only a bad role model for our community but for young girls in particular. i'm the mother of three girls, and i felt like that was an unfair judgment from someone who doesn't know me, admittedly didn't watch my show. he's only doing that by my appearance, and i did i think that was fair. >> this viewer professes to care

about the public health message. do you think his concern about obesity is genuine? >> i do, i definitely do, and i think that it's a good conversation to have. i think his approach was totally inappropriate. i have never gone in public and said that i am the shining example of what your health should be. i have never said that girls should aspire to have a body like mine, and i've never told anyone that they should eat the way i do, exercise as much as i do. my job is to come out, cover stories, deliver the news, and if somebody wants to talk to me about a story that i've covered,p i am all about that, and i can even handle the occasional your jacket didn't look great today your hair was in your face, but when you attack somebody on a level that is personal, it's not fair. i don't care if i'm in the public eye. it's not fair. >> were you nervous at all to take this on? i think a lot of us who get these kinds of notes think i guess i'll just ignore them.

were you worried that if i put this out there, i'm going to invite a response that may be even meaner. >> actually, no, i wasn't worried about that. i have a pretty thick skin. i'm a tough gal and can handle those kinds of e-mails. what i'm thinking instead is i'm having conversation about my 10-year-old daughter right now about bullying right now, i'm telling her and trying to inspire her, if she she is bullying happening in other people, she needs to take a stand, important to take a stand. what kind of message am i teaching her when my husband and i are talking about this mean e-mail that i received and i'm not taking a stand for myself. i can stand up for myself. there's a lot of people that can't, and i'm going to do it. >> do you think the tone among viewers, the discourse you see on twitter or facebook, do you think it's gotten meaner over the years? >> i do, i do. i think that that's been the downside of the internet is that people can just put out what they want with anonymity and never have any responsibility

about what they are saying. would you say that to your grandma, or to someone if they were in your face? i don't think they would. you might go about it in a way that's kinder. i would hope that you would, but that's the problem that we have in our society today. it's so easy to be cruel when we should try to be focussing on being kind. >> i know you've gotten many, many kinds responses of support, and we're grateful to have you on this morning. jennifer livingston, thank you so much. >> thank you, savannah. and coming up next, dramatic video of two plane crash survivors stranded for hours in the gulf of mexico. they will share it with us in an exclusive live interview right after this. baby, what matters to me most is what's on the inside.

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can your moisturizer do that? [ female announcer ] dermatologist recommended aveeno has an oat formula, now proven to build a moisture reserve, so skin can replenish itself. that's healthy skin for life. only from aveeno. oh, yeah. it's 8:21, and we're back with more "simple savvy silly tips for a smarter way to go through life." we tackled the taco on tuesday, as you all knew, and this morning we have to rethink the way to eat a cupcake. >> yes. we also have a clever way to get big sound out of your iphone, but first the chip bags. a lot of chip bags and don't have all the chip clips. david's eaten half of them. take the chip bag and get all the air out of it, and then you

fold it over, but you've got to leave a little space. >> okay. >> you use your thumbs and pull it back and then fold it over. knew this would be hard on live tv. fold over. i've been practicing. like this. >> you invert it. >> that keeps the chips fresh. >> or you could eat the whole bag. >> americans struggle with all the time how are they going to eat the cupcake? still looking at inverting the bag diagram. how do you eat the cupcake, a lot of frosting and a lot of cake. danny duncan from grand rapids, michigan, suggests you're going to cut your cake off. cut the cake off and put it on top over here and then you'll proceed to eat. >> what's the difference? >> what's the difference. >> apparently it makes it into a

sandwich situation. >> i think it means you don't get as much frosting. >> another way to do it, too. the other way to do it, cut this off here which i think is good and take the portion here and then you just throw that away. >> all right. he gets to eat the cupcake, too. a better way to do it. >> thank goodness you didn't have the egg segment. >> this one is, you know, separating the egg yolk from the egg white because a lot of recipes call for that. >> sure. >> this tip from carolyn in ontario, canada, take a plastic bottle and suck it out. >> do it again. >> and the yolk is intact. >> that's a party trick, too. >> that's the best one of the week. >> carolyn hunt from ontario, canada. >> there you go. >> all right. >> amazing. >> now al roker. >> trying to clean your blender. just one of those things.

got the sponge in, never quite fet it clean. >> cut your hands. >> just take a little squirt of a little dish washing detergent, fill the blender up halfway. >> i know what you're going to do. >> of course. >> and then you hit frappe. >> blend. >> and then you -- it's clean. you pour it out. you rinse, done. >> voila. >> boom. >> bonus, al. >> this is the bonus round from justin ferraro, the same fellow from nebraska who gave us the paper towels to keep your cords straight. mp3 and no amp around. can we turn the music down. >> i wonder what song you'll pick. >> okay. >> this is it without any, put it in a cup, suddenly it's a little bit louder. >> wow. >> put it in a bowl, not a cup.

>> it works. >> better. >> big bowl. >> uh-oh. get this party started. ♪ >> even bigger! unbelievable. >> that's amazing. >> 5.0 in a bowl. very nice. >> and then you put some chips in there and you've got chips and a party. >> a party bowl. >> and a cupcake to go along with it. >> that's good. >> put it in a bowl. >> i think "the a-team" theme is still the best. >> thanks to all our viewers who sent in great tips. >> i want to save some time here. we're going to come back in tune. >> he's got a knife. >> uh-oh.

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's check on the morning commute with traffic pulse 11. >> west side delays are getting worse. stretching back in the out of to the j.f.x. they continue to the west side. outer loop accident just prior to security. it is off to the left shoulder, but still adding to those delays. southbound 795 out of the owings mills area. j.f.x. filling up quickly from the beltway all the way in to 28th street. potee street, watch for an accident. ridge road and braddock road.

we will update you on the west side, and security. you can see the accident off to the shoulder. even worse as you travel on the outer loop just past edmondson. police activity. medical emergency. we are seeing reports of a maternity emergency. that is what is happening there. baby on the way. cannot always control the timing. right, tony pann? >> i will agree t. fog is starting to burn off and you'll see sunshine sneaking through to 76 in annapolis. wide range of temperatures this morning and you will have the same thing this afternoon. seven days down south of baltimore. 30% chance of a shower or thunderstorm.

tomorrow, 81. better chance for rain over the weekend. >> back with another update at 8:56. and those well grounded.

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8:30 now on this wednesday morning. it's october 3rd, 2012, and you're looking at the piano guys in action. they are five dads who have become youtube stars with their class classical master of pop songs including one direction's big hit. so we'll hear from them in just a few moments. good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie, alongside

natalie morales and al roker and david gregory in this week for matt. >> two survivors of a plane crash in the gulf of mexico will their share amazing survival story coming up. >> who doesn't love "the princess bride." >> we love "the princess bride." >> hard to believe, it's celebrating its 25th anniversary. coming up, lester catches with the cast and director rob reiner, meathead. >> stop that rhyming, and i mean it. anybody want a peanut? >> love it. >> also coming up, are you too young or too old for it? >> oh, no. i remember it well. >> okay. also coming up, what do the candidates eyebrows, or how can they be a key to the presidential race? we'll talk about that coming up. >> you haven't talked about that on "meet the press." >> all how you pluck and tweeze

and the candidate with the best eyebrows apparently wins. >> before that a check of the weather. >> let the best eyebrow win. from the pot and pan restaurant, guests, a pot and a pan, welcome. snow showers and rain and snow in the plains. western montana seeing snow. it's going to be toasty again phoenix. 104 degrees today. for tomorrow we expect to see those showers still hanging around the northeast. also down in southern florida. miami on track to have their wettest year ever. sunny and mild in the pacific northwest and snow moves into northern minnesota. the heat continues from the southwest into southern texas. >> good morning. going into the afternoon, a mixture of sun and clouds. still a slight chance for a rain shower.

>> and don't forget, if you need that weather, go to the weather channel on cable, weather.com online. savannah, these ladies have been here all morning. hey, hey. hey. there you go. >> lenny's been here all morning, too. >> he's here every morning. >> he didn't threaten me. >> coming up, we've got a remarkable survival story. two men who survived a fiery plane crash in the gulf of mexico and recorded it all as they waited for their rescue. we're going to talk to them exclusively, but first, this is "today" on nbc. krystal conwell : we see a lot of problems with the...

number of students that we have. resources. materials. things that the children need... on a day-to-day basis. anncr: question seven will help. the department of legislative services says question seven... will mean hundreds of millions of dollars... for schools...from gaming revenues that would have... gone to other states. and independent audits will guarantee the money... goes where it's supposed to. krystal conwell: i think people should vote for question... seven because i think it will be a great benefit to children. back now at 8:35 with a remarkable survival story. a small plane catches fire forcing the pilot to bring it down in the gulf of mexico.

in a moment we're going to talk to him and his passenger. but first, their harrowing ordeal documented on an ipad. nbc's janet shamlian is in bay town, texas. janet, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. when they took off from the bay town airport. there were no concerns. the weather was great. the plane had been checked out and this is a route that the pilot knew well. fortunately he also knew emergency procedures well because it became apparent at 11,000 feet they would not be landing in florida, as they had planned. >> okay. >> reporter: this video from an ipad was taken by pilot ted wright just moments after he and a passenger survived a harrowing crash into the gulf of mexico. >> we are hour one. we just had a plane crash in the gulf of mexico, and the ipad survived, thanks to the lifeproof chase. >> reporter: raymond fosdick, ted's best friend, was in the passenger seat.

the two were flying from texas to sarasota, florida, on a route that would keep them over water almost the entire trip. they were two hours into the flight in this twin-engine baron when suddenly smoke and flames filled the cabin. >> neither one of us were screaming, and, you know, there was no praying. there was no, you know, thinking the world was coming to an end. >> reporter: but they knew they would be disc the plane in the gulf, and after impact they would have to get out quick. >> by the time i could reach down and undo my seat belt, the water was up to my butt in the aircraft. >> reporter: just before the plane sank fosdick grabbed a life preserver and the ipad. >> remarkably the ipad is not injured. >> reporter: remarkably call they recorded the wait for help. >> i believe we've been in the hour for one hour now. no sign of the coast guard or any rescue emergency services yet. tried to flag him down and tried

to signal him without any luck. >> reporter: but their luck did change. after three hours and just before nightfall that would have made a rescue close to impossible, the coast guard pulled them from the swell. >> survivors at the rail. >> hopefully this is the last recording because we will be rescued soon. signing off. >> reporter: now back on land both men say they will fly again. >> i have no hesitation climbing into another aircraft whatsoever. my wife, on the other hand, does not want me to do much. >> reporter: kind of hard to blame her for that. the coast guard says if you're going to ditch in the gulf, these guys did it textbook. they activated the emergency beacon. they stayed calm, and it sounds like the ipad survived as well. david, back to you. >> janet shamlian, thanks so much. ted wright and raymond fosdick are with us both exclusively. guys, good morning. >> good morning. >> good to see you both and good

to hear a good outcome to the story. theodore, were you coming up to the interview in a brand new plane, landing gear equipment. you had to divert because of fog and ultimately had to drive the rest of the way. you got to feel like you're a bit snake bit here at the moment. >> i know. i'm wondering what i did to deserve all this, but it's -- you know, it's all experience, and you have enough exposure, you get kind of control the experiences. teeth brother was shut down and we had a bit of a gyro issue with the aircraft, but very minor compared to our story in the gulf. >> was one scarier than another in terms of, you know, facing an emergency like that? >> you know, i would say the gulf incident was pretty scary. being on fire, there's nothing like that. >> so talk about that. you're flying along. you're over the gulf. you start to see smoke and fire behind the instrument panel, right? >> yes, and in the nose baggage area. basically we were flying around, eating a back of m & ms, checked in with houston center and we

see a little bit of smoke which typically is not a huge deal. usually a radio will smoke a little, throat electrical power off. everything is fine. made a quick call to houston control center, told them we had a problem and before i finished the radio call we were covered in smoke. >> any question in your mind that we will have to ditch this aircraft? >> no. those decisions were being made pretty synonymous and pretty quickly between the two of us. that's pretty much what saved our lives was being able to recognize the aircraft loss and not to save ourselves. >> training goes into this course. we see it in this ipad video that you take, and you're taking great care to preserve the ipad and document all this, but were you poised. you were calm. i think a lot of people are going to find that amazing. obviously train sag big piece of that. >> training is a big part of it. no pun intended, you kind of go into autopilot in those situations and just run through the procedures. the ipad obviously, you know, i have it everywhere with me, and we grabbed it on the way out of the airplane.

about hour one i realized we had it, get kind of lonely. ran out of things to talk about so we made a quick video which, of course, you've seen now. >> and it did take a while for the coast guard to actually reach you. it was close to sundown. were you starting to get concerned about how much longer you could have survived out there? >> absolutely. people ask us were you worried. we weren't worried at all. we knew they had three position reporting devices that they could find us, but when the first aircraft passed over our heads and they didn't see us and we're waving and saving and still don't see it, watching the sunset and the second aircraft shows up, still don't see us, yes, we start to get nervous. >> how much fear enters into this? >> fear definitely plays a role. i won't lie and say there wasn't fear. there was definitely some back there. however, because of experience. because we've been in stress full situations, we're both remaining calm, and you begin looking at your options, and even though they are very bleak and grim out there with, you

know, you're in the middle of nowhere, we did spot an oil rig just over the horizon, and it becomes one of those things of, okay, if it gets dark and they leave, what are we going to do? >> right. >> so there was some fear involved, but it wasn't enough to overpower our patience. >> theodore, your plane you use to support a group around the world for life to give plane rids for kids for cancer, will you get another plane. >> yes. i actually already have another aircraft, so we're going to continue the around the world flights, and nothing's changed except the tail number, so we will -- we will continue. >> so back in the air. >> back in the air. >> feeling undaunted. >> absolutely. >> all right, guys. good to see you both here, and, you know -- >> thanks very much. >> thanks for your good thinking and your training. congratulations on that. >> thank you very much. >> ted wright and raymond fosdick. up next, the cast of "the princess bride" looks back at their unlikely hit 25 years later, but first this is "today" on nbc.

25 years ago "princess bride" hit theaters and fell flat and then it quickly became a cult classic. now a commemorative dvd is being released. lester holt caught up with the movie director and its stars. >> want to see my face shining in it by the morning. >> us a wish. >> you probably don't have to go far to meet somebody who can recite this movie line for line. >> rodents of unusual size, i don't think they exist. >> you fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous is never get involved in a land war in asia. >> you killed my father, prepare to die. >> inconceivable. >> inconceivable. >> directed by rob reiner and

based on william goldman's 1973 novel "princess bride" is a terry tale with a twist. >> is this a kissing book? >> wait, just wait. >> when you made this film, were you thinking hit? were you thinking longevity? >> classic. classic. we were thinking of classic, lester. >> no, you weren't. >> you're not thinking of anything. thinking of making a movie that will hopefully entertain a lot of people. >> entertain it did. released in 1987 the low budget romantic comedy didn't fare so well at the box office, but it's become a cult classic 25 years later. >> people named their children wesley and buttercup as the middle name, and it became this iconic film each year that passed. >> robin wright, a virtual unknown back in 1987, was cast as princess buttercup. terry elwis played wesley, the mustache his idea. >> i felt completely blessed to be part of this tsunami of talent, and i was always

scratching my head saying how did i find my way on to this movie? it was just pure luck. >> robin, i have to wonder, did any chemistry develop between you on the set? >> no, nothing. >> to this day. >> i was so in love with him, oh, my god. >> one of the pieces of trivia said you wanted more takes with the final kissing scene so you could be with kerry. >> yes, that is true. >> i think that was me actually. that was me. >> "princess bride" had an ensemble cast. >> you killed my father. prepare to die! >> mandy patinkin actually learned how to fence with the famous sword fight with kerry owens. >> you are wonderful. >> thank you. >> he and i trained pretty hard for a pew weeks. >> and the late andre the giant, who was the perfect person to play the role, at least physically. >> it's not like you throw a stick and 50 giants show up, but i thought i don't understand a word he's saying. i actually recorded his part, and i sent it to him and he

learned it by rote how i did it. but he was a gentle giant. >> he would keep my head warm. it was so cold. his hand was so big it covered my whole head. >> meanwhile, billy crystal who brought the house down during filming because of his quick wit ad libbed some of the film's most quotable scenes. >> have fun at the castle. >> 25 years later still regular film screenings, even a facebook page dedicated to "the princess bride" proving this little movie that could has withstood the test of time. >> maybe can you come over and read it again to me tomorrow. >> as you wish. >> for "today," lester holt, nbc news, los angeles. >> love, love, love. >> such a tender moment. >> love this movie. >> as you wish. >> how many times have you seen it? >> i've never seen it. >> he's a moving watchy guru. i wanted to wait until i had my own children. >> aren't they just newborns?

>> raised in some news lab somewhere. >> that would happen. >> i was working in the lab late one night when i saw a giant man who does the news. we call him gregory. here's his views. he did the press, the monster press, the "meet the press." >> i had no idea what i just started. >> no idea how that started. >> an idea waiting to be expressed at the news anchor laboratory manufactured. i guess we're out of time. >> up next, online sensation the piano guys perform their one-direction hit, but first, this is "today" on nbc. does your phone give you all day battery life ?

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back now at 8:51 with the piano guys. five dads from utah with more than 250 million facebook fans and more than 145 million hits on youtube. they have gained fame for their videos featuring classical interpretations of popular music, and now they are out with their debut album, and the piano guys are here. al, steven shark nelson, john anderson and paul stewart. guys, good morning. >> good morning. >> you are rock stars, kind of. >> our kids don't think so.

>> so paul, this started with you. you own a piano shop. >> yes. >> looking for a way to advertise. how did this happen? >> yeah. just looking for another way to advertise an online social me a media, facebook was the same way. all crossed paths in utah. john schmidt came in and the next thing we know we starting figure. >> john, you're the only guy who plays the piano in a traditional sense. where did you get the moves? >> spontaneous creation. all five of us are like brothers, feel like we've been together and have so much fun together. the stuff like this naturally happens. we just enjoy it so much, and normally it's actually john on the piano and then i play cello, and we love putting those instruments in crazy places like on a 1,000-foot cliff or on a train or jumping out of a plane. >> you have the rock star mentality now. people throwing their undergarments at you and that kind of thing? >> our kids think we're pretty

cool since we released a cd with sony. other than that we're kind of dorky. >> pretty cool. we'll let you take it away. >> thank you. >> cool. ♪ ♪ ♪

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♪ ♪ na, na, na, na, na, na, na, nan na ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na ♪ ♪

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. the orioles eke out a win in tampa despites striking out. jim johnson managed his 51st save as the o's win 1-0.

the birds remain one game

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